Glass-drawing apparatus



A. E. SPINASSE GLASS DRAWING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 9, 1926 A 2Sheets-Sheet 1 v 1,643,184 P 1927' A. E. SPINASSE GLASS DRAWINGAPPARATUS Filed Sept. 9, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 20,1927.

"1,643,184 UNITED STATES ,PATENT- OFFICE.

names. a. srma'ssn, or 110m vnan'on, OHIO. ems-nnawme nuance.

Application filed Septeniber 9, 1926. Serial No. 134,444.

The present invention relates to improvements in glass drawing apparatusand an object of the invention is to protect the glass bath and anyapparatus therein from falling fragments of glass, which have been setor partially set in the sheet of glass being drawn.

This sheetof glass passes up out of the furnace through aleer and themargin portions of the sheet frequently break off and fall down into thebath of molten glass and upon parts of the apparatus, doing in ury tothese arts and resulting in theidrawl'ng of imper ect glass. 0

The purpose of the invention 15 to interpose a barrier to the entranceofsuch detached particleswhereby the glass bath at the drawing zone willbe kept free of the particles and in condition to draw uniform andperfect glass:

With the foregoing and other objects 1n view, the inventlon will be morefully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed outin'the' claims appended hereto.

In the drawings,-wh"erein like symbols refer to like or correspondingparts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is avertical section through p ortions of a glass furnace andleer casing showing the improved device.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 22 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 33 also in Figural, and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged. scale through theimproved attachment. I

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 5 designates t e furnaceroof and 6 the openin therein through whlch the sheet of glass,esignated at 7 is drawn upwardly from the bath of glass 8 in thefurnace. This sheet is, according to some methods, drawn from the freeor natural surface level of the glass bath, and according to othermethods, through a slotted float.

The sheet 7 is received between the two sets of drawing rolls 9, 10andll, 12 which shift the sheet upwardly in the act of draw ing thesame. The rollers are already mounted on appropriate journals fitted inappropriate bearings in the walls of the leer casing 13. The journals ofthe rolls 9 and 11 are provided with the beveled gear wheels 14 and 15which are disposed respectively in mesh with complementary beveledinions 16 and 17 on a common shaft 18, w ich-is driven from anyappropriate source of power. The opposite drawing rolls 10 and 12. havetheir trunnions supported in the depending arms 19 of bell crank leverswhich are fulcrumed at 20' upon the leer casing and have their companionarms 21 provided with the sliding 'weights 22 equipped with the setscrews 23, by which the welghts may be adjusted along the arms 21. Theweights tend to rotate the. bell crank levers about the fulcrum point 20with the result that the attached rolls are urged against thedrawn sheet7 and enough friction is! secured to cause the drawing upwardly of thesheet by reason of the opposite driven roll.

Inasmuch as there is a tendency for the margm portions or edges of thesheet to draw thick or head like, are reduced or tapered at dlcated at24 in Figure thlckened edge portions would prevent the intermediateparts of the rolls from securin good contact with the body of the sheetand to th s extent would interfere with positive draw ng of the sheet.

It 1s found, however, that these tapered roll ends leave gaps betweenthe-rolls at the thlckened edge portions of the sheet through whlchparticles of the glass which break ofi their ends, as'in- 1; otherwisethe from the edges of the sheet are enabled tofall into the glass bath 8in the furnace to the 1n ury of the glass bein drawn. This falling glassoftentimes fa s upon the rethe drawing rolls.

fractory floats placed in the glass and these floats are broken orchipped, or otherwise ingured particularly along the walls throughw .ichthe sheet is drawn, so that the sheet itself is improperly drawn andchecks,

cracks and other blemishes occur.

According to the invention rolls 25 and 26 are provided at a point tocatch and divert the falling particles of glass into the catch pans 27and 28 provided to receive same upon the furnace roof 5 adjacent thefurnace openmg 6. The rolls 25 and 26 are both urged yieldably againstthe glass sheet 7.

7 wide and longer than the opening 6 in the furnace roof, so as toadequately protect the drawing zone from the falling particles.

Due to the rounded peripheral surfaces on the rolls 25 and 26 thefalling glasss particles will be diverted away from the sheet and intothe catch pans 27 and 28. Y

As shown in Figure 3, the rolls 25 and 26 may be carried directly uponthe lower ends of the swinging arms 31 and 32 pivoted upon a commonpivot pin or hanger 33 upon the leer wall 13 or othersupport.

The arms 31 and 32 will diverge downwardly as the pivot or fulcrum point33 is arranged axially in substantially the same plane with the drawnsheet 7. The result is that the rollers 25 and 26 by their own weights,will exert a yielding pressure in opposite directions upon oppositesurfaces of the. glass sheet. v i

In Figure 4 a preferred construction of the rollers 25 and 26 is shownin which these rollers are indicated to be constructed of a solid bodyof wood, metal or other material 34 mounted upon the square or othershafts 35 and having an outer covering or shell 36 of some soft yieldingor resilient material, such assemtsoft asbestos, which is alsorefractory. Such yielding surfaces enable the rolls to press firmly uponthe sheet without producing lines or blemishes therein, and at the sametime permitting the rolled surfaces to conform to the varyingirregularities in the drawn sheet on both sides of the sheet, whereby nogaps will be left for the passage of falling glass particles.

The glass catching rolls 25 and 26 may be placed at any appropriatepoint but preferably at the point where the glass becomes set. Forinstance these rolls 25 and 26 may be placed above the drawing rolls orbetween the pairs of drawing rolls if desired.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications maybe made in thedetails of construction and design of the above specifically describedembodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof,

such chan es and modifications being restricted o y by the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:-

1. In glass drawing apparatus, drawing means for drawing and preservingthe alinement of the sheet, and auxiliary rolls in addition" to thedrawing means yieldably pressed against opposite sides of the sheet andpositioned to divert falling particles of the glass sheet.

2. In glass drawing apparatus, drawing rolls for drawing the glasssheet, and auxiliary non-driven rolls in yieldable contact with theglass sheet including the border portions thereof and rotated by themoving sheet.

3. In glass drawing apparatus, rigidlymounted positively-driven drawingrolls, yieldably-mounted drawing rolls opposite said rigidly-mountedrolls for forcing the glass sheet against said rigidly-mounted rolls,and auxiliary rolls yieldably-mounted at opposite sides of the sheet topress upon the sheet and be moved thereby to divert fallin glass.

4. n glass drawing a paratus, a container for a bath of molten g lass,drawing means thereabove for drawing glass sheets from the bath, androlls independent, of said drawin means and between the drawing means ansaid bath for yieldably "pressing against opposite sides of the glasssheet.

5. In glass drawing apparatus, a container for a bath of molten glass,drawing rolls in contact only with the intermediate portion of the sheetbetween the border portions thereof, and independent rolls in yieldingcontact with the border portions of the sheet above the bath.

6. In a paratus for drawing sheet glass with bor or portions of greaterthickness than the intermediate portion of the sheet, a container for abath of molten glass, drawing rolls in contact only with theintermediate portion of the sheet between said border portions ofgreater thickness, and independent rolls positioned to contact with saidsheet border, portions of greater thickness.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

ARTHUR E. SPINASSE.

